[Image by Talke Photography via Flickr and usage via Creative Commons]
An idea: Current advertising has two shiny sides, competing [...]

Fast Company posted a really interesting study from IBM today. “For CEOs, creativity is now the most important leadership quality for success in business, outweighing even integrity and global thinking, according to a new study by IBM.” That’s crazy, right?

I’m heading to Dayton, Ohio to speak at their AdFed’s monthly meeting. And I’ve been thinking about the role of the creative director and how that position has rapidly evolved.

May thanks to Gene Rebeck at Twin Cities Business for the great article, “Hello Viking: Step Into Liquid,” today.

Our friend Bart Cleveland, creative leader at the very talented Albuquerque agency McKee Wallwork Cleveland, writes frequently for AdAge on [...]

During the spring of 2010 we collaborated with the marketing team at VocalEssence on the naming and identity for their [...]

Marketing and Advertising are finally emerging from the Classical era and into the birth of Jazz. Away from the rigid hierarchy of the Classical (“command and control”) era emphasizing perfection and into a no less professional scene providing greater flexibility and leaner accountability. The story (the tune) still sits at the center. Success is still measured in applause. But who performs and how they perform has changed dramatically.

Last night I had the opportunity to speak on a panel with Meghan Wilker and Nancy Lyons from Geek Girls Guide and Nathan Almquist from Webknowledgy at Brookfield Properties’ Boutique Retail Roundtable. It was refreshing to hear consistent responses from our panel—the industry seems to be coalescing around key elements.

A friend who doesn’t work in advertising came to visit the agency today. She asked me to explain what advertising was all about in 2009. I said advertising used to be created from words and images. But then we added technology.

Seth Godin suggests, “As long as your site is about something else and the ads are a distraction, you’ll see CPM rates drop.” I couldn’t agree more. The challenge, I think, is in rejecting publishing-as-usual and actively seeking greater collaboration to provide advertising ideas, placements and functionality that treat viewers as royalty.

Tomorrow I’ll be speaking along with Greg Swan from Weber Shandwick on “The Brand of You in the Digital Age” for an event hosted by the Minnesota chapter of the American Marketing Association and co-sponsored by MIMA.

One of the benefits of new office space is more space. More tables. More chairs. More rooms with doors so you don’t totally distract the rest of the team. More opportunity for collaboration. So we’ve been hosting and attending a lot of collective conversation since moving in. And it’s been inspiring.